Gove must explain how he decided which schools would go ahead

Responding to revelations in tomorrow’s Sunday Times that Schools Minister Sarah Teather held a meeting with Education Secretary Michael Gove to discuss the fate of two Academy building projects in her constituency shortly before an announcement was made to give them a reprieve, shadow children and education secretary Ed Balls said:

“It is no surprise that Liberal Democrat MPs are worried about the effect the coalition’s unfair and reckless cuts will be having on their re-election chances. After all before the election they said they would keep the Building Schools for the Future programme and that it would be madness to cut schools funding.

“But it is brazen hypocrisy of Sarah Teather to expect her colleagues to face public anger about cuts to their local school building programmes, while using her position as Michael Gove’s deputy to try to protect herself in her own constituency. She seems happy to go along with the cancellation of over 700 schools in other constituencies, but only as long as hers are protected.

“Very few MPs whose constituencies have been affected were granted meetings with Michael Gove and people will understandably ask why Sarah Teather and the Conservative MP who threatened to march on Downing Street saw a number of their local schools reprieved while Labour MPs in Sandwell, one of the hardest-hit areas, were sent away from their meeting with nothing.

“Michael Gove must explain how he decided which projects would go ahead, publish all the relevant documents and explain to Parliament what criteria, if any, were used.”

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Posted September 11th, 2010 by Ed's team

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